Climate change, it is feared, could result in additional, similar problems for the Norwegian seed repository. The CLV is intended as a вЂњbackupвЂќ for NorwayвЂ™s SGSV, which flooded after uncharacteristically high temperatures melted the islandвЂ™s ice. India has great plans for the future of the CLV, which is intended вЂњto rival Svalbard Seed Vault in Norway, as well as Fort Collins, ColoradoвЂ™s National Center for Genetic Resources,вЂќ the latter of which holds вЂњ600,000 seed packets.вЂќ However, India must first equip the vault with a cooling system for use during the weeks that temperaturesВ warm to -4 degrees. The seeds stored in the Chang La Vault (CLV) are genetically modified to ensure вЂњthat grains and vegetables can reproduce at high altitudes, in salty water, less water, and high temperatures.вЂќ The vaultвЂ™s seeds are resistant вЂњto temperature, pests, and humidityвЂќ and will allow generations to come to enjoy a variety of produce, including вЂњapricots, cabbage, carrots, potatoes, radishes, tomatoes, barley, rice and wheat,вЂќ since such seeds have extremely long lifetimes-413 years for onion seeds, 1,100 years for rice seeds, 1,600 years for wheat seeds, 2,000 years for barley seeds, and an astonishing 9,000 years for pea seeds. Despite its distant and inhospitable location, the high desert site is perfect for its mission, the storage of 10,000 seeds and 200 plant species, вЂњpreserved in permafrost at -18 degrees Centigrade,вЂќ which, in the event of a Doomsday catastrophe, would be used to replenish crops. Neither earthquakes nor floods are threats. Temperatures are below zero, and humidity is almost non-existent. It is situated atop a frozen mountain in the Himalayas, on a treacherous road that traverses elevations as high as 5,360 meters (17,688 feet). Three hours from the nearest town, Leh, Chang La is difficult to reach. вЂњThese resources stand between us and catastrophic starvation on a scale we cannot imagine,вЂќ Fowler declares. ThatвЂ™s why the SGSV is needed and why Norway paid the $9 million in construction costs, Bill Gates paid the costs of shipping the 1.5 billion seeds, and almost every nation has contributed seeds.

The downside is the family variety goes extinct.вЂќДЄny number of catastrophes, natural, technological, or otherwise, including вЂњequipment failure or mismanagement,вЂќ can destroy a crop, Fowler says, and вЂњonce that crop is lost,вЂќ it is gone forever, and, with it, its resistance to disease or pests would disappear forever as well. But today, farmers are planting mass-produced industrial seeds. Seeds used to be passed down through families.

Scientist Cary Fowler offers an example: of the 7,100 varieties of apples that existed in the 19th century, only 300 remain вЂњthe extinction rate for apple varieties in the United States is about 86 percent.вЂќ ThereвЂ™s a reason that вЂњextinction exists in all crops. The SGSV is also a hedge against extinction, which isnвЂ™t something that may happen in the future, but is happening now. The treasure the vault holds is too precious to risk: seeds, collected from all over the world, over a period of seventy years-1.5 billion of them, enough to reseed agriculture, should a Doomsday event occur. The vault is so cold that it will remain frozen for a quarter of a century, even if power to the refrigeration that maintains temperatures below those of the permafrost that covers the vault should fail. the sun never rises, and the moon never sets.вЂќДЄ huge, wedge-shaped entrance leads into the side of a mountain and into the Doomsday vault, which is built to last 10,000 years. The residents of Longyearbyen, the closest settlement, number just over two thousand. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault (SGSV), administered by Norway, is located on icy islands, known as Svalbard, or the вЂњcold coast.вЂќ As might be expected, this region of the world is sparsely populated. Whatever befalls us on Doomsday, survivors will have food to eat, cultural artifacts to treasure, sweet treats to enjoy, and maybe even pets to pamper.ДЎ0 Highly Guarded Vaults 10 Svalbard Global Seed Vault We have built vast storage vaults in the arctic and elsewhere, and scientists hope to build yet another one, underground, on the moon. Culture, beneficial bacteria, and cookies should survive, too. WeвЂ™re ready, though, or as ready as we can be, at least where food supplies are concerned. Any number of catastrophic events could bring Doomsday upon us. A stray meteor on a collision course with Earth.

Doomsday vault opened